Siouan place name (Macy)

Mark-Awakuni Swetland mawakuni-swetland2 at unl.edu
Thu Jun 17 14:37:21 UTC 2004


Expanding on the Marriott family anecdote, I was told in the mid 1990s that
Macy was a contraction of "MArriott CitY" => MACY. The Marriott trading post
was in the center of the skunk hollow road (the road actually split around
it as it went northwest up the creek. It was routinely so muddy that they
decided to relocate down the stream to the south side of what is now the
central green space in Macy, south of the C-Store and east of the powwow
grounds (directly north of BlackBird Creek).

Anecdotally I've heard Matthew Tyndall referred to as Mazi Tyndall.

However, in Fletcher's 1882 Land Allotment register MS p.155, Matthew
Tyndall, age 51, is listed as Sta-da-ha. I have not located the Elk Clan
equivalent in the Fletcher and La Flesche 1911 listing. I will try to ask
around and see if any of the old folks recall him.

uthixide
mawakuni-swetland2 at unl.edu

----- Original Message -----
 One version is that Macy is a contraction of oMAha agenCY.  The original
Omaha Agency was, as I uderstand it, Omaha, NE.  When the Omahas were
relocated under the Treaty of 1854 to Thurston County in the north, the
Omaha Agency was moved with them.  At some subsequent date the Post Office
complained of the confusion that arose from distinguishing Omaha and  Omaha
Agency and someone suggested calling the latter Macy.  When I spoke with
Jerry Mariott in 1985 he reported that the story in his family was that this
renamer was one of his ancestors.  His family had operated the general store
and post office in Macy for some years.
>
> The other version is that Macy is a rendition of Omaha(-Ponca) Maazi
'Cedar', the Omaha name of Matthew Tyndall, on whose allotment the town of
Macy was located.

One thing I can't verify is what the Omaha name of Matthew Tyndall was.



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